Boeing strikes tentative deal with Justice Department to avoid fraud prosecution

The aviation giant reached a tentative agreement with federal attorneys to avoid criminal prosecution over two plane crashes that killed nearly 350 people. Boeing agreed in principle to a non-prosecution agreement, according to a status update from the Department of Justice filed on Friday. The deal will keep the major military contractor from facing trial next month. Boeing Media Relations Director Jessica Kowal told WORLD on Friday that the company had no comment on the case development.

Boeing faced criminal charges for allegedly conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Evaluation Group during its evaluation of the company’s 737 MAX jet. The company deceived the FAA evaluators about the importance of a piece to the aircraft’s flight control system, which caused the FAA to publish inaccurate jet manuals and pilot training materials, according to the DOJ. Investigators learned that the flight system information concealed by Boeing may have contributed to two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people in total. As a result, Boeing faced a charge of conspiracy to defraud the FAA in connection with the crashes.

So what happens next? The parties are working fast to get the agreement in writing, according to the department’s updated case page. The government expects to file for the case against Boeing to be dismissed without prejudice within the next week. Cases dismissed without prejudice are able to be refiled at a later date. Boeing previously agreed to pay over $2.5 billion total for its actions related to the crashes. Payments included a criminal penalty of $243.6 million, $1.77 billion in payments to Boeing’s 737 MAX airline customers, and a $500 million fund compensating relatives and legal beneficiaries of the crash victims.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s previous reporting on a previous deal Boeing made with prosecutors.